one quarter o' a century

in keepin' w/ the tradish,

i present {to you} this year's birthday memoirs:

♥♥♥

24 things i’ve learned while being 24

1. i have learned that i shouldn’t drop off mr. miyagi @ the groomer when chloe’s in tow ‘cause she will think i am giving him away forever & will cry “agi, agi, no, agi, agi, no!” for a heart-breaking half hour.

2. i have learned that staying up all night for 1.8 nights in a row, will cause very deep slumber the third day, resulting in sleep waking to the mailbox down the street & consequently having a minor panic attack upon waking up & not having a clue how i got there/where my child is/etc.

3. i have learned that starting a blog dedicated to healthful living doesn’t magically make me motivated or skinny. and i might have only lost 9 pounds in twelve weeks. {and that’s okay and happy.} *read my success story here.

4. i have learned that i’m not a procrastinator; i simply have a hard time deciding where to begin. [this continues to be an empowering discovery for me!]

5. i have learned that there is life after pepsi…but, i can however go 7 weeks without it, take a sip in a moment of weakness, and fall directly back in love. {don’t try this at home…it’s painful.}

6. i have learned that i will always cry {at least a few} tears of disappointment when i find a pregnancy test to be negative…even on the months i don’t necessarily desire to be preggo.

7. i have learned that the comfort of gap {long&lean} ankle-length jeans are sooo worth the money to my short & awkward-waist-to-butt-ratio-ed self.

8. i have learned that life is crazily unpredictable. {in a cool way.} unemployment is super crappy & stressful, as well as other trials o’ life. but necessary & important for growth. and if ya just make it through: there’ll be bucket loads of silver lining to be discovered.

9. i have learned that being in the primary presidency is only 1/2- 1/3 as scary as i expected it would be.

10. i have learned that kaboom {rocks the house} and is the only cleaning agent that will make my cheap-ish, plasticy shower look somewhat clean.

11. i have learned that as soon as it’s humanly poss, it’s my greatest dream to be a super-full-time stay at home mom. i plan to sacrifice any house or amount of money to eventually do this.

12. i have learned that every time i try to pay my bills online, i mess somethin’ up & pay the wrong person/account. and that i should just stick to the old-school way of paying bills ‘cause i’m cool slash lame like that.

13. i have learned that my man would go to the end of the earth {if necessary} & move mountains {literally} for his girls.

14. i have learned that I have no business {or fun} shopping at scottsdale fashion square. ghetto-fab superstition shall always remain my favorite mall. discount racks + 2 wetzel pretzel locations = my kinda shopping joint.

15. i have learned that i’m not a consistent/good texter or emailer or cell phone charger-ist.

16. i have learned that when i ignore how much gas costs, my quality of life increases dramatically.

17. i have learned that white bed sheets are super boring but beyond practical…and i’m totally converted.

18. i have learned that if i continue to say {yes} to every extracurricular assignment & opportunity, i am sacrificing a heaping-handful of sanity and at least three years off my life.

19. i have learned that chloe will eventually be potty trained & ditch the binky. but she’ll only be two once…so there’s no need to be in such a hurry. {i don’t care what the doctor says.}

20. i have learned that this year i want to start planning for christmas {much earlier} than i did last year.

21. i have learned & finally acknowledged that the lemon cleanse is sort of extreme & kinda stupid. {for me @ least}

22. i have learned that my fam & the gospel are my only true assets.

23. i have learned that “bees” are airplanes, “barbie” is audrey, “mommy” is granny & grandma, “pin-cess” is princess, “bebe” is jesus, “bu-bye” is car, “li-einsens” is little einsteins, “ju-ju” is juice, & “angie” is mommy {in chloe-language.}

24. and...i have learned that i really don’t know much at all & thus stressing just isn’t worth it.

this next year of life…i’m strivin’ to put it all in the Lord’s hands, baby!!

happy belated july 10^th!

{thanks to all who made it such a happy day!}